


That's Not How Walkie Talkies Work

by MiddlingTheBest



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Gen, NO SADS, pure happiness, the sides have walkie talkies because it's cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:40:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24430738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiddlingTheBest/pseuds/MiddlingTheBest
Summary: When asked, Roman would maintain that he hadn’t fully understood how walkie talkies worked when he made them, he just knew that he wanted them.A short, happy oneshot of the sides with walkie talkies.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 48





	That's Not How Walkie Talkies Work

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Please enjoy this little ramble, it was a cute idea that struck me today that I wanted to share because it made me happy.

When asked, Roman would maintain that he hadn’t fully understood how walkie talkies worked when he made them, he just knew that he wanted them. The moment he learned about them he became absolutely enamoured in a way that he usually reserved for upgrading his sword or armour. They were just. So. Cool!

He made them for him and Patton first, the two sides giggling to themselves from separate rooms, sometimes still close enough to hear each other without the devices, and would whisper secrets, mission plans, or just nonsense back and forth. When Patton wanted to share his with Logan, Roman made another one and all three could choose who they wanted to talk to. Talking as a group from their separate rooms was popular for late-night ramblings, or for just confirming who was eating dinner at the table that night. “Goodnight”s would be chimed through them in the evenings, even if two of them decided to stay up for hushed conversations late into the night.

When Virgil first showed up, naturally he didn’t know about the light sides’ love for their walkie talkies so when Patton thrust his into his hands, insisting he take it with him before he sunk out, he stared down at it, bemused, before raising an eyebrow at the bubbly side. “Why would I take this?”

“So you can still talk to us, silly!” Patton chimed back with a laugh, reaching over to press the button on the side a couple of times to show how it worked. “You just hold that in and talk and whoever you want to talk to will hear it in theirs!”

Virgil paused for a long moment, staring at the father figure like he’d lost his mind. “Why don’t you just use phones? Or… talk to each other? You do know that this isn’t how walkie talkies work, right? And why would you even want to talk to me, you all seem to be quite happy to see me go most of the time.” He questioned, his shadowed eyes flicking from Patton’s eager expression to Roman who looked like he was physically biting his tongue to keep himself quiet about the situation.

“It’s just more fun this way!” Patton insisted. “I’m sure Roman won’t mind making me another one so if you keep that it means we can talk when we’re not all here. Please take it, I like talking to you and this’ll mean we can all talk more!” Patton then hit him with the biggest weapon in his arsenal: he went in hard with the puppy eyes.

Virgil was floored. He’d never seen Patton when he really wanted something before, never mind had it directed at him. Even Roman, looking spectacularly unhappy about it, seemed to give in and accept that Virgil had been made a part of their walkie talkie club because there was no way that Virgil was giving it back. Not with _those_ eyes staring at him. He wished he could have been more prepared, until now the worst that had been thrown at him was Remus who was significantly more unpleasant but much less effective. He didn’t stand a chance.

“Fine.” He grumbled, a little flustered and desperate to ignore Patton’s immediate switch to cheering. “I’ll take the stupid thing. I still don’t understand why you don’t just use phones…”

That night when the first “goodnight Anxiety!” sang through the box, he kind of got it… but he wasn’t admitting that to anyone.

\---

It took a long time for Virgil to actually join in on the conversations with the others through the walkie talkies. He was included a lot more often than he’d though he’d be and he couldn’t be entirely sure that wasn’t just because Patton, for whatever reason, seemed to want him there. Usually he would wear his headphones covering just the one ear, the other free to listen to the little box which would start to rattle off in the evening or late morning as the others chatted amongst themselves in their rooms. It was the night after his debate with Logan that he finally felt confident enough to enter in to the lull in conversation. Having two of the three sides somewhat accepting of his presence filled him with something that felt like confidence’s weird cousin; there was a family resemblance, sure, but the fact you couldn’t deny it was related to confidence was the only thing that stopped it from getting kicked out of family gatherings.

His face and hands heated uncomfortably but his voice was cool as he responded to something Logan had said, his heart seizing with every beat that went by until Patton’s squealing came crackling through the device.

“YOU KEPT IT!” He screeched, some of the notes he was hitting unable to make it through the old speakers.

“Well, yeah.” Virgil mumbled, his face red, and he was glad the others were so far away. “You asked me to, so…”

“Well, you would agree with the nerd, Surly Temple.” Roman griped after a moment, gingerly bringing them all back into the conversation and Virgil was honestly kind of amazed that it really was easier, it was _fun_ , to talk with these stupid little boxes.

\---

Telling Remus was a mistake. Honestly, Virgil didn’t know what he’d been thinking, and judging by the look on Janus’s face he didn’t know why he’d done it either. It was an unmitigated disaster. Remus loved the idea but he didn’t just grab and run with it, no: he may as well have javelined it into a crowd of pigeons. The “dark sides” had walkie talkies before the day was out and they worked a lot like Roman’s in the fact that they didn’t follow the standard rules of walkie talkies in who you could talk to and when, but Virgil was also pretty sure they were sentient. For the first design Remus trialled they had had faces. You spoke into their ears, their mouth’s would talk back, and they were utterly horrifying. Remus, of course, had loved them and Janus had been surprisingly ok with it, but when Virgil had woken up that first night to his standing upright on his bedside table staring at him he had demanded that they be changed.

After many, _many_ redesigns they had all settled on a nice, boring, normal looking walkie talkie. Sometimes it would glitch out and channel what Remus with achingly loving tenderness referred to as The Void, and sometimes it would be wet, but beyond that it was perfectly normal. The Void would occasionally whisper hauntingly in the night but would generally stop if asked, and the box had only ever sparked a little when wet so really, out of all of Remus’s creations, this one was surprisingly easy to live alongside.

The only truly unfortunate feature of Remus’s walkie talkies was that they picked up on the light side’s frequencies. No-one was really sure why, but then again, it was only the Creativities who knew how they worked in the first place. Everyone had become painfully aware of this feature when Roman’s screams had pierced through each of their devices, followed immediately by the ungodly combination of Remus’s shrieking cackle over distorted sounds of unseen creatures creeping through the room. Virgil had nearly had his confiscated for allowing the infiltration from the dark sides but both Patton and Logan successfully argued the fact that the other sides were there anyway and taking Virgil’s walkie talkie away was hardly going to change that.

The others soon became roped into the conversations. Usually the light sides (and Virgil) would just stick to themselves, and the dark sides (and Virgil) would do the same, but after a few “goodnight”s and questions thrown their way, Remus and Janus would on occasion interrupt a debate among the others with their own suggestions or distractions and the chiming in soon became the new norm.

When Virgil officially left for the light sides, he took both walkie talkies with him. He’d gotten used to the gentle mutterings of The Void through the night, and the other sides were great but nothing could beat a giggle-fest with Remus at 3am. Being across the mindscape meant that now, more than ever, there was _gossip_ to be had, and Virgil would sooner cut off his arm than give that up with Janus.

It was sheer childish nonsense. It was hard sometimes to understand the light sides enjoying them so much when they were all so close together but for bridging a gap, especially a tense one like the distance between the light and the dark sides, they were perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> And I know that was short but I hope you liked it! Just something fluffy to ease up from the some of the angst of the current main fic. I hope to get a couple things like this out over the next while because they make a nice break I think so let me know what you think! As always, come say hi on tumble, same username as here, especially if you maybe have any requests because that would be quite fun! Take care all!


End file.
